


Pockets of Home

by moontaekoos



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Bartender Seonghwa, Christmas Rush, Finding comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Holiday Blues, Hongjoong is emo, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Not Beta Read, Past Character Death, Seongjoong are a little bit older here, Why am i writing about christmas during the summer?, Yunho is a teenager, i swear this is not sad, we might never know, yunho is cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:47:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23393497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moontaekoos/pseuds/moontaekoos
Summary: Hongjoong comes home in hopes of reliving the past, Seonghwa is the world's most bored bartender.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66
Collections: Seongjoong Week 2020





	Pockets of Home

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fluff piece I wrote to let my mind breathe from the longer pieces I'm writing. I hope you like it!

Seonghwa hates day shifts. He really does. 

Well, you would too, if you worked at a bar. What kind of bar opens during the day anyway? People rarely come in, and if they do, they're either lost tourists whom they can hardly understand, or drunkards looking to kill time.

And to make things worse… Their blessing of a manager made them work on Christmas Eve… or day? He's not even sure what to call it. 

It's not that he's the biggest Christmas fanatic, really, no… It just sucks to feel left behind, you know? Everyone's either spending more money than they should or stuffing their faces with food… And they're just there, stuck. He just likes having an option if possible. 

But what he really hates is the stagnant feeling of this cursed shift. Most of the time it's only him and this other guy Yunho, but he's much younger than himself, so they rarely see each other eye to eye. It makes him feel bad though, because Yunho is the kind of kid who radiates happiness and energy. He'd really love to be friends, but the generation gap sometimes is a bitch. 

The feeling of a missed holiday made today's shift even more unbearable. The bar is boring as hell, with only one guy curling up with his beer in a booth. He's been there since lunch hours and just didn't move once they whisked away his lunch plates. They decided not to ask. 

Seonghwa thought it was time to rearrange the liquor bottles for the gazillionth time this week - he had to do something or else he's gonna lose his mind. Once he got up from the counter, Yunho snapped up and followed him, intent on finding something - anything - to do on the world's most boring shift. 

"What are we doing, hyung?" Yunho asked eagerly. Almost too eagerly, that it reminded Seonghwa of an excited puppy. 

"Ugh, I wish we had something to do… I'm just gonna go and rearrange our liquor display so I won't go insane." Seonghwa sighed, which made Yunho's eager expression to go down a notch. 

The younger juts out his lower lip and pouted, "Okay hyung, let me know if you want any help." 

Maybe the kid isn't so bad after all, he thinks to himself as he busied with the liquor display, polishing the already gleaming bottles. 

Yunho, who still had nothing to do, decided to just hum to himself while juggling some crumpled paper towels. Damn, he wished he brought a game or a book or anything, he feels like he's ready to tear his hair out. 

\----  
Hongjoong hailed a cab from the airport alone, feeling a little heaviness in his heart. The heaviness dwindled down to almost a hunger for happier, simpler times. When he can just come home whenever he wants to, and there’s an actual home waiting for him.

But now that his family is scattered around the world, chasing their own careers. Now, home just feels like a skeleton of what it used to be, and Hongjoong is just clinging to the happy memories he can revisit. Just to remind him that they’re there, that they really happened.

His phone rings, and he smiles at the contact photo.

“Mingi! Yes, I just landed. I’m in a cab right now.” Hongjoong said, feeling instantly warmed by his best friend’s enthusiasm over the phone. “And before you apologize again, I said it’s okay that we can’t fly home together! I understand your schedule, and besides I’ll be alone for only two days and you’ll be here too, right?”

“Yes, I know… But I’m still worried about you! What if someone shoves you into their pocket?” Mingi teased.

Hongjoong actually chuckled at his best friend’s attempt to be funny, which surprised them both.

“Is that the holiday cheer piercing through your cold, cold heart?” Mingi giggled through the phone.

“I don’t know… Maybe? I can’t believe I’m this nervous to see a diner.” 

“But it’s been years, hyung, you think it might still be there?”

“It has to be.”

“But if it’s not?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

The cab slowed down to a stop, and Hongjoong steels himself.

“I gotta go now, Mingi. I’ll see you when you get here.”

“See you, hyung!”

Here goes nothing, Hongjoong sighed to himself.

\---

Yunho was still busy with the crumpled paper towels when the door chimes rang, signalling the arrival of (finally) a customer. 

Yunho jumped to his feet and greeted the customer with a bright "Good afternoon, sir, welcome to Aurora's!", but the man just went straight to a booth by the window, like he didn't notice a towering young man greeting him like there's no tomorrow. 

"Happy… Holidays?" Yunho tried again, eager to catch the customer's attention. Still nothing. 

"Uhh, okay?" Yunho mumbled under his breath, reaching over the counter to retrieve his notepad that he uses to take orders on, when he noticed something odd. 

The man sat down on the only booth in the bar with a "reserved" sign. Which is weird for a bunch of reasons: 1. Why the hell did they even reserve booths during the day, no one ever comes in anyway 2. The booth is all the way to the farthest corner of the bar, why bother sitting there when there's literally no one else around to avoid 3. Why is he reading the menu so emotionally? 

Scratching his head, Yunho decided to tap Seonghwa for help. He went over to the liquor display to tell his hyung what happened. 

"Hey, uhh, hyung?" Yunho tapped Seonghwa on the shoulder. 

Seonghwa jolted a little bit before paying attention to his coworker.

"What is it, Yunho?" 

"A customer just came in."

"Yeah, I heard the chimes ring. What's the matter? Don't you want to take his order?" Seonghwa glanced at the opened notepad in the boy's hands. 

"Well, you see… I'm kinda creeped out…?" Yunho said nervously. 

"Creeped out? Why?" 

"Well first he walked in the door with glazed eyes-" 

"Glazed eyes? How did you know that, Yunho? You've been reading too much fanfiction again-" 

"Hyung please I'm just… and he sat in that booth that always had the reserved sign for some reason… And is currently reading the menu like it's gonna make him cry… Hyung please just take this one, I'm low key scared?" Yunho drags on, pouting again. 

Seonghwa sighed, he knew very well that Yunho will just pout at him until he gets what he wants. 

"Fine, but you'll owe me."

He plucks the notepad out of Yunho's hands and starts walking towards the customer. Yunho stayed behind the counter and just followed Seonghwa with his gaze. 

"Are we ready to order, sir?" Seonghwa asked, noticing how the man slumped in the booth, hiding behind the menu. 

The man can't be that much older than Yunho, but with a petite build. His dainty hands were shaking a little bit while clutching the menu, and he seemed a little fazed. 

"Hey, uhm, what happened to this place?" He asked, looking a little bit confused.

"Uh, sir?" 

"Oh, sorry, I just… Can't see the old regulars anymore? And why aren't there any more people?" 

Seonghwa found himself dumbstruck. What was he supposed to say? Business is shabby? 

"I'm sorry sir?" 

"I mean… I used to go here with my family all the time… We used to sit in this exact booth…" 

The customer looked lost and distracted. 

As if the day hasn't been long enough, now he has to answer quizzes from strangers. 

Looking as if he got jolted back to reality, the customer focused his attention back to Seonghwa. 

"Oh, I'm sorry… It's just that I grew up in this neighborhood, and my family and I used to eat here all the time. They had a picture of my late father on the wall, I was hoping to get it back for Christmas.” He trails off, as if trying to push down a memory. 

Seonghwa suddenly remembers what this place used to be. A couple of years ago, before this became Aurora's, it was a family diner, often bustling with customers. Maybe that's what the customer was talking about. 

"Oh, I think you're talking about the old diner… I'm sorry sir but it closed down a couple of years ago if I remember it right." Seonghwa stuttered, quite unsure what reaction to expect from the guy. 

"I-is that so? That's so bad… I'm sorry for wasting your time…" the customer squinted, trying to read Seonghwa's name tag that was pinned to his shirt. 

"Seonghwa, Park Seonghwa. At your service?" He smiled shyly, still unsure of the situation. 

"Well, Seonghwa… I'm sorry for wasting your time, I just wanted to relive my past Christmases, you know? When my family weren't continents away from me…" the customer started to drift away again, and Seonghwa's heart stung a little bit. 

"Sir? Uhh… We're still open until late… Do you want to spend your Christmas here again after all? Yunho and I can use the company." Seonghwa said, gesturing to Yunho who was already waving eagerly from the counter. “And who knows, maybe we can find your father’s picture in the storage? I think they kept the stuff from the old place there.”

The customer's eyes widened, and he flashed a bright smile for the first time that day. 

"Hongjoong. Kim Hongjoong." 

"Uh, what?" 

"My name. You can't call me ‘sir’ all Christmas, right?" 

"Right." Seonghwa said, offering his hand to Hongjoong. 

"Oh come here," Hongjoong said, pulling Seonghwa's arm and hugging him instead. Yunho's eyes were as big as saucers as he watched his hyung taken aback by the sudden surge of affection. 

"Thank you, Seonghwa… And Yunho! For lending me your Christmas." Hongjoong said, his voice hazy with glee. 

In the end, Hongjoong found his little pocket of home, and Seonghwa didn’t feel like he’s still missing out on a holiday.  
Maybe the day shift isn't bad after all.


End file.
